Homecomings and Happiness
by The last Phantomdreamer
Summary: (The title will make sense soon I hope) Fresh from hospital, Carly Shepard was given a note and told to go somewhere and it changes her life forever. (The rewrite of another story I wrote so I will be changing the canon and deleting the other one I like this one better.) (Note I have split up the inlaws bit as I have a huge idea about it)
1. My Happiness

My Happiness

When she was free of the hospital, Commander Carly Shepard had been ordered to come to the presidium commons by a note at the desk. She expected her on and off lover/boyfriend/confidant Kaidan Alenko, after what she had said to him she really wondered what they were to each other. Carly had admitted to him she loved him and he said it back, but they went into a giant battle and it wasn't spoken what they were to each other. She walked into the lift, it spoke to her and she silently pressed the button. She let her mind race, and her had brush through her long red hair, during the time she was unconscious it had grown and rushed down her back. She liked it like this.

The lift doors slid open with a small ping, she walked out half preoccupied but noticed the strings of lights hung around the walls and the fact that it was empty was different to the norm. She watched the lights as she followed them down the stairs and down to the next set past Apollo café. On the top of the last little set of stairs she tripped on the material of her dress, it was like time slowed down as she fell. Closing her eyes felt like it had taken a year to do. She waited for the thump of pain as she hit the ground but felt none; she felt a little warmth on her skin and heard gentle breathing. She gently teased her eyes opened, to see a face in front of her just looking.

"Careful there." He said

"Kaidan, you caught me." She said

He nodded and kissed her gently; after he did he carefully put her back on her feet. She carefully looked around, at the lights and the sky was turned to night even though it was eleven in the morning.

He led her to the railing to look at the artificial stars; she looked at them and smiled.

"These are the stars you can see on Earth, I had to ask for a lot of favours for these." He said

Shepard stared at them and wondered about a home on Earth, spending her life in space meant she saw all kinds of stars and planets but never the ones of Earth. After she had turned over the Normandy to the Alliance, she was off duty and spent most of her time in Vancouver. The city was heavily built up and had dreamed of lots of green grass and a house in the countryside.

"I always loved the stars." She said "Being a spacer I saw a whole lot." She continued to look at them carefully. Kaidan wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her tighter to him.

A little while later, he let her go and turned her to face him.

"Shepard, I wanted to talk about us." He said his eyes turned to the ground.

"What about us?" She asked

"Yeah, I wanted to know what we are to each other." He said

She looked at him and smiled.

"I told you I love you, I meant it. I want to be with you Kaidan." She said.

"I love you too, but I want to ask you something. I have thought about asking you something." Kaidan said. He nervously looked at her and smiled carefully.

She looked at him carefully and smiled.

"My name is Carly, not many call me it. I thought a lot about us in the hospital, and when I was in my coma I dreamt about us Kaidan." She said. "So I may have something to ask you too."

"Your name is Carly, it's a nice name." He said "Ok so I have something planned, and I really want you to say yes. Will you marry me?"


	2. Meet the in laws

Meeting the In-laws

It was a huge question dropped between them; she had no idea how to react, on one hand she wanted to say yes and on the other they had been through hell and back. She died and obliterated his heart when she was brought back; he had torn her up when he gave her no room to really explain. They had only gotten back together a year ago and most of that time she was unconscious, and here they were, on the presidium looking at the artificially altered sky. She then realized how he felt about her.

"We've been through hell together, and here we are. Are you sure you want me?" She asked nervously as she shuffled her feet on the ground.

"Yeah, we have. But I am sure." He replied looking at her sincerely.

"Ok then I will." She said.

Kaidan had said that his parents wanted to meet her, and he said that they would be there. So a few days later that is where they were, waiting outside the front door of Kaidan's parent's house. Carly was nervous; she had stopped an all scale reaper war, stopped a crazed Turian who wanted to start it and The Collectors, but meeting her future in laws was terrifying. The woman who opened the door was the friendliest looking woman in the entire universe; she had greying black hair she shared with her son and a set of lines gently around her huge green eyes.

"Hello Kaidan, this must be you fiancé. I am Janet, Kaidan's mother." She said with a bright warm smile. "Do come in."

They followed her into the house; on the walls Carly saw pictures of Kaidan through the various stages of his life. When he was a young boy holding a fish he had caught with his father and a few birthdays and Christmases, Carly wondered if Hannah had pictures of them on her ship. When they made it to the garden two other people were out there talking, one was a man with brown hair and eyes, the other were the exact duplicate of Carly but older Hannah Shepard. She saw her daughter, and excused herself and walked over to Carly.

"Oh Carly, it's good to see you again." Hannah said. "Good to see you are alive."

Hannah pulled Carly into a warm hug.

"Always email me to say you are alive now and then." Hannah said.

Carly sighed and smiled.

"It's good to see you too Admiral." Carly said

Hannah let her daughter go from the hug, and looked at her perfectly.

"It's mom to you Carly." Hannah said

Kaidan appeared over her shoulder, and put his head on her shoulder.

"Hello Hannah, I'm glad you make it." He said "Carly follow me."

Kaidan had led them to end of the garden where there was a balcony overlooking a vista, that Carly had sparsely seen, the sky was a bright blue the grass a verdant green and all it housed in between was in a cornucopia of colours. Carly walked to the strong glass railing and stretched her arms across it, gazing out over the landscape. Kaidan smiled at her as he put down the beers he held on the garden table, he then slid over to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"You grew up around this?" Carly asked

"Yeah, it's still beautiful now as it ever has. Like you Carly." He muttered to her.


	3. Two families coming together

Two families coming together

Carly sat down with Kaidan at the small table, he handed her one of the bottles. She took it and drank some; she turned to look at her mother who was talking with Janet about how Carly was as a child. She shrugged her shoulders and looked back over at Kaidan who eyed her suspiciously.

"So did mom show you any pictures yet?" He asked "She has a temptation to show them to visitors regardless of whom they are."

Carly smiled and patted his hand.

"Not yet but I saw some on the way out here." Carly said "I have no doubt the Admiral is showing some to your mother."

Kaidan's father was tending to a barbeque; he lit it carefully to avoid burning himself. Kaidan went to join him, after he kissed Carly gently on the cheek. She watched them and smiled, half proud of the family she was going to join and half confused in space there was no chance of a barbeque lest the ship set alight. Hannah had excused herself to sit with her daughter.

"They seem like a great family." Hannah said causing Carly to look at her.

"Yeah I just wish father was here to meet them." Carly said

Hannah looked at her and frowned. Carly's father had died shortly after she was born on a routine mission after the first contact war, but Carly didn't know much more than that.

"Yeah he woulda been proud of you Kiddo." Hannah said

Carly smiled, they never talked about Carly's father a whole lot as it really was a bad subject for Hannah. Carly was never shown a picture of her father, as they had been too busy to take one. Janet had come over to the table and sat down; she looked at them and smiled.

"You're the famous Commander Shepard, My Kaidan has said a lot about you." Janet started

"All good I hope?" Hannah asked

"Yes he said how good a leader you were, at that time we had no idea about how he felt about you. But he came back home after you vanished, for a few months very down about it. I thought then how important you were to him." Janet said smiling

Carly looked over to Kaidan and smiled.

"Please Mrs Alenko; Kaidan was there for me, he's important to me too." Carly said

"It's Janet dear."

When the food was ready they had all sat around it carefully, Kaidan and his father were at the ends of the table and the others were on the opposite sides. Kaidan handed out the freshly barbequed meat to them all, before serving his and regaining his chair.

"A toast to Kaidan and Carly." Hannah said as she raised her glass, Kaidan's parents followed before they chinked the glasses together carefully. Carly went a little red but still she joined in by tapping her glass with Kaidan. He smiled as if to say don't worry it happens, she slid some of her hair behind her ear.


End file.
